P.M. BRIEFING : Economics Still Divides Germany
The economic gulf between the eastern and western parts of newly unified Germany is widening dramatically, according to new statistics issued today.
The figures show that inflation is rising and umemployment is falling in the west, while joblessness is rising rapidly in the eastern part of the country.
West German inflation rose 0.7% in October, bringing the cost of living 3.3% above its level one year ago. Separate figures for eastern Germany were not given.
Unemployment in former East Germany jumped to 6.1% in October from 5% a month earlier.
A total of 537,800 former East Germans were unemployed, compared with 444,825 in September, but workers on state-funded short-time work were steady at 1.77 million.
In former West Germany, unemployment continued to ease, falling to 6.5% from 6.6% in September. The jobless number fell to 1.69 million from 1.73 million.
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